Alan Johnson, the UK Home Secretary, has decided not to intervene in the extradition of Gary McKinnon, the so-called ‘X-Files hacker’ to the United States’.

Johnson had halted the extradition proceedings after coming under pressure to review the human rights implications of extraditing McKinnon. McKinnon’s legal team and supporters believe that his health is at risk and that there is a serious risk of suicide should the extradition go ahead. However, after reviewing the case, Johnson wrote a letter to McKinnon’s family saying that he was unable to halt the proceedings on human rights grounds and would allow the extradition to proceed.

Speaking about the vulnerability of her son, McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, said:

Gary is at risk of suicide, I’m extremely worried about him. This government is terrified of speaking up to America, and now they are allowing vulnerable people to be pursued for non-violent crime when they should be going after terrorists.

Karen Todner, McKinnon’s lawyer, indicated that she would be applying for a further judicial review and went on to say:

We cannot give up because in some ways it’s like dealing with a death row case, and we genuinely believe Gary’s life is at stake here.

McKinnon’s legal team have worked hard to emphasise the human rights angle in the case, painting the hacker as a vulnerable misfit rather than a dangerous criminal.

The US Department of Justice has given assurances, seen by the court, that McKinnon would be evaluated by healthcare professionals and cared for whilst interned in the US. In addition, Johnson has indicated that, should McKinnon be convicted and sentenced to a jail term, any application to serve his sentence in the UK would be processed swiftly.